Systems and methods of fast wireless output device activation in a mesh network system

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of fast wireless output device activation in a mesh network system are provided. Methods can include a parent device receiving data from a child device, the parent device determining if the data received from the child device requires an output, and if so, the parent device activating an output device associated with the parent device. In some methods, the parent device need not wait for instructions from a control panel or gateway before activating the output device. Accordingly, the latency time to activate the output device can be reduced.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/645,766, filed Oct. 5, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates generally to a mesh network system. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods of fast wireless output device activation in a mesh network system.

BACKGROUND

Communication in a fire detection system is rare unless a pre-fire or fire scenario is occurring. For example, when devices in a fire detection system are sensing alarming levels of heat or smoke, all input devices in the system can transmit alarms and/or data to a gateway. Often, these transmissions can be substantially simultaneous. Accordingly, a cascading wave communication protocol can support communication in these types of worst-case scenarios.

A cascading wave communication protocol works on the principal of data aggregation. For example, a wireless fire detection system can include four sensors S1, S2, S3, and S4. As seen in FIG. 1, a packet transmitted by sensor S4 includes only S4's data. When the packet is received by sensor S3, sensor S3 appends its data to S4's data and transmits the packet to sensor S2. When the packet reaches a panel P, the packet can include data from all four sensors S1, S2, S3, and S4.

A large wireless fire system loop can include any number of devices, for example, N devices. In these systems, the cascading wave communication protocol can support a packet size large enough to aggregate data from all N devices. For example, each communication time slot can be long enough to accommodate a maximum size packet.

To enable efficient data aggregation without increasing message latency, child nodes can be allocated communication time slots before the parent nodes. In FIG. 1, sensor S3 can be a router or parent of sensor S4, sensor S2 can be a parent of sensor S3, and so on. The communication time slots allocated to sensors S4, S3, S2, and S1 can be slot 1, slot 2, slot 3, and slot 4, respectively. Accordingly, a child node's data can always be available at the parent node during the parent node's communication time slot. In this manner, the parent node can aggregate its own data with the data received from its child node. Then, the parent node can transmit the aggregated data together in a single packet.

In some systems, a parent node can have multiple child nodes. However, the communication time slots of all child nodes can occur before the communication time slot of the parent node. Accordingly, a packet transmitted by a parent can contain its own data aggregated with the data or alarms received from all of its child nodes.

Due to the aggregation described above, the transmission of data from four nodes requires four communication time slots. Similarly, the transmission of data from N nodes requires N transmission time slots. In this manner, a control panel can receive data from each of the nodes in the network.

Using the same protocol described above, a control panel can also transmit data to nodes in a network. For example, a fire panel can transmit data to N nodes in a network, and the data can reach each of the N nodes in respective ones of N time slots. When the control panel transmits data to nodes, the slot allocation of the nodes can be reversed.

When a device in a wireless system detects an alarm, the device can transmit data to a gateway. The gateway can be polled by a control panel in a wired system, which, depending on the content of the received data, can activate various output devices. When one of the output devices to be activated is part of the wireless system, the control panel can transmit instructions to the gateway, which can retransmit the instructions to the output device. In these circumstances, the latency time to activate the output device in the wireless system can be the sum of the time for the gateway to receive data from a device, the time for the gateway to transmit data to the control panel, the time for the gateway to receive instructions from the control panel, and the time for the gateway to transmit the instructions to an output device. That is:

T_(tot)=T_(input_gw)+T_(gw_panel)+T_(panel_gw)+T_(gw_output)   (1)

In various situations, the length of this latency time can be problematic. Accordingly, there is a continuing, ongoing need for systems and methods of fast wireless output device activation in a mesh network system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of time-slotted communication using a cascading wave communication protocol;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a wireless fire detection system connected to a wired fire detection system via a gateway;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method in accordance with disclosed embodiments; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a wireless device in accordance with disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this invention is susceptible of an embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein in detail specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention. It is not intended to limit the invention to the specific illustrated embodiments.

Embodiments disclosed herein include systems and methods of fast wireless output device activation in a mesh network system.

In some embodiments, the status of a child device can be made available to a parent device substantially immediately. Accordingly, a mesh network can be organized in such a way that the output to be activated by a certain input is a parent of that input. When arranged in this manner, an output can be activated without waiting for a command from a control panel.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a wireless fire detection system 100 connected to a wired fire detection system 200 via a gateway 110. As seen in FIG. 1, the wireless system 100 can include four devices or nodes: a wireless output module 120-1, a wireless sounder strobe 120-2, a wireless call point 120-3, and a wireless detector 120-4. The call point 120-3 can be the child of both the sounder strobe 120-2 and the output module 120-1. The output module 120-2 can control an electromagnet to close a fire door 130.

In some embodiment, the sounder strobe 120-2 and the output module 120-1 can check messages coming from the call point 120-3. When either the sounder strobe 120-2 or the output module 120-1 receives a message from the call point 120-3 that indicates an alarm condition, the sounder strobe 120-2 and/or the output module 120-1 can activate itself to emit an output. For example, the sounder strobe can emit a sounding siren or strobe a light. Similarly, the output module 120-1 can cause the electromagnet to close the fire door 130.

In accordance with disclosed embodiments, the sounder strobe 120-2 and the output module 120-1 need not wait for a command transmitted by the control panel 210 via the gateway 110. Accordingly, the latency time to activate an output device in the wireless system can be reduced as compared to systems and methods known in the art.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method 300 in accordance with disclosed embodiments. As seen in FIG. 3, the method 300 can include a parent node determining if any data has been received from one of its child nodes as in 310. For example, the parent node can include an output device, and the child node can include an input device. Both the parent node and the child node can be part of a wireless system.

If the method 300 determines that the parent node has not received data from any of its child nodes as in 310, then the method 300 can continue determining if the parent node has received any data from one of its child nodes as in 310. However, if the method 300 determines that the parent node has received data from one of its child nodes as in 310, then the method 300 can include the parent node determining if the received data requires an output as in 320.

If the method 300 determines that the received data does not require an output as in 320, then the method 300 can continue determining if the parent node has received any data from one of its child nodes as in 310. However, if the method 300 determines that the received data requires an output as in 320, then the method 300 can include the parent node activating its own output device as in 330.

After the method 300 determines that the parent node has received data from one of its child nodes as in 310, the method 300 can also include the parent node appending its own data to the data received from the child node(s) as in 340. Then, the parent node can transmit a packet to the parent node's parent as in 350. For example, the packet transmitted by the parent node can include the data from the parent node appended to the data received from the child node(s). In some embodiments, the parent node's parent can include a gateway.

In some embodiments, the parent node determining if the received data requires an output as in 320 and the parent node activating its output device as in 330 can occur substantially simultaneously with the parent node appending its data to data received from a child node as in 340 and the parent node transmitting a packet to the parent node's parent as in 350. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the parent node need not wait for instructions from the parent node's parent before activating its output device. That is, the parent node can activate its own output device prior to receiving instructions from a control panel or gateway.

The method 300 of FIG. 3 and others in accordance with disclosed embodiments can be executed by the wireless device 400 shown in FIG. 4. For example, the wireless device 400 can be part of the wireless fire detection system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

As seen in FIG. 4, the wireless device 400 can include an output device 410, a transceiver 420, control circuitry 430, one or more programmable processors 440, and executable control software 450. The executable control software 450 can be stored on a transitory or non-transitory computer readable medium, including but not limited to, computer memory, RAM, optical storage media, magnetic storage media, flash memory, and the like. In some embodiments, the programmable processor 440 and the executable control software 450 can execute at least some steps of the method 300 shown in FIG. 3 as well as others described herein.

For example, the programmable processor 440 and the executable control software 450 can use the transceiver 420 to determine if any data has been received from a child node of the wireless device 400. The programmable processor 440 and the executable control software 450 can also determine if any received data requires an output. If so, then the programmable processor 440 and the executable control software 450 can activate the output device 410.

Although a few embodiments have been described in detail above, other modifications are possible. For example, the logic flows described above do not require the particular order described, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. Other steps may be provided, or steps may be eliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be added to, or removed from, the described systems. Other embodiments may be within the scope of the invention.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific system or method described herein is intended or should be inferred. It is, of course, intended to cover all such modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: wirelessly receiving, by a parent device, child device data from a child device; appending, by the parent device, parent device data to the child device data; and wirelessly transmitting, by the parent device, a packet to a control panel when the parent device receives the child device data from the child device, wherein the packet includes the parent device data appended to the child device data.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the parent device, whether the child device data indicates an alarm condition; and activating, by the parent device, a sounder strobe upon determining the child device data indicates the alarm condition.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising activating, by the parent device, the sounder strobe without waiting for a command from the control panel.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising activating, by the parent device, a sounder strobe substantially simultaneously with transmitting the packet to the control panel.
 5. The method of claim 1, the child device data includes a status of the child device.
 6. A parent wireless device, comprising: a transceiver; a programmable processor; and executable control software stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium; wherein: the transceiver is configured to wirelessly receive child device data from a child device; the programmable processor and the executable control software are configured to append parent device data to the child device data; and the transceiver is configured to wirelessly transmit a packet to a control panel when the transceiver receives the child device data from the child device, wherein the packet includes the parent device data appended to the child device data.
 7. The parent wireless device of claim 6, wherein the parent wireless device further comprises a siren device configured to emit a siren.
 8. The parent wireless device of claim 6, wherein the parent wireless device further comprises a strobe device configured to emit a strobe light.
 9. The parent wireless device of claim 6, wherein the parent wireless device further comprises an electromagnet configured to open or close a fire door.
 10. The parent wireless device of claim 6, wherein the child device data includes an indication of an alarm condition.
 11. The parent wireless device of claim 6, wherein the programmable processor and the executable control software are configured to determine the child device data has been received from the child device.
 12. The parent wireless device of claim 6, wherein the programmable processor and the executable control software are configured to determine whether the child device data requires an output.
 13. The parent wireless device of claim 12, wherein the programmable processor and the executable control software are configured to active an output device of the parent wireless device upon determining the child device data requires the output.
 14. A system, comprising: a control panel; a parent device; and a child device; wherein: the child device is configured to wirelessly transmit child device data to the parent device; and the parent device is configured to: append parent device data to the child device data; and wirelessly transmit a packet to the control panel when the parent device receives the child device data from the child device, wherein the packet includes the parent device data appended to the child device data.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the parent device, the child device, and the control panel are distinct devices.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein: the system further comprises a gateway in wired communication with the control panel and wireless communication with the parent device; and the parent device is configured to transmit the packet to the control panel via the gateway.
 17. The system of claim 14, wherein the child device comprises a wireless call point.
 18. The system of claim 14, wherein the child device is configured to wirelessly transmit messages to the parent device.
 19. The system of claim 14, wherein the parent device is configured to activate an output device of the parent device prior to receiving instructions from the control panel.
 20. The system of claim 14, wherein the system comprises: a wired fire detection system comprising the control panel; and a wireless fire detection system comprising the parent device and the child device. 